The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1887-05-13

me weeping, tied to the tree, and learned
what II was about, she went quite mad, foI
sometimes she had q kind heart when she wal
not drunk, and said that a curse would fall
a them, and that they would all die In blood
And she took knife and cut me loose,
though Baas Frank wanted to kill me, no that
might tell no tales; and ran away, travel,
ing by night and hiding by day, for was
very much frightened, till got to Natal, and
there l stopped, working In Natal till the
land became English, when Baas Croft hired
me to drive his cart up from Maritzburg
and living by here I found Baas Frank look
ing bigger but just the same except for his
beard.
"There, baas, that Is the truth, and all the
truth, and that Is why l hate Baas Frank,
because he shot my father and mother, and
why Baas Frank hates me, because lie cannot
forget that he did 1t and saw him do it, for,
as our people say, 'one always hates man
one has wounded with spear;" and having
finished his narrative, tho miserable looking
little man picked up his greasy old felt hat.
that had leather strap fixed round the
crown, in which were stuck a couple of frayed
ostrich feathers, and jammed it down over
his ears, and then fell to drawing circles on
the soil with his long toes. His auditors only
looked at one another. Such a CHASTITY tale
seemed to be beyond comment. They never
doubted its truth; the mans way Of telling II
carried conviction with it. And, indeed, two
OF them at any rate, had hearl such stories
before. Most people have who live in the
wilder parts OF South Africa, though they
are not all to be taken for gospel.
"You say" remarked old Silas, at last,
hat = ~,
on them and that they would die in bloodi
She was right Twelve years ago ON Jacob
and his wife were murdered by party of
Mapochs Kafiirs, down on the edge of that
very Lydenburg veldr There was great
noise about it at the time, remember, but
nothing came Of 1t. Baas Frank was not
there He was away shooting buck; so he
escaped and inherited all his fathers farms
and cattle and came to live here"
49," said the Hottentot, without showing
the slightest interest or surprise II knew it
would be so. but wish I had been there to
see it. I saw that there was devil in the
woman, and that they would die as she said
When there is a devil in people they always
speak the truth, because they can't help it,
Look, baas, draw circle In the sand with
my foot. and say some words SO, and at
last the ends touch. There, that is the circle
of ON Jacob and his wife the Englishwoman.
The ends have touched and they are dead.
An old witch doctor taught me to draw the
circle of mans life and what words to say.
And now draw another Of Baas Frank. All!
there is stone sticking up in the way. The
ends will not touch. But now I work and
work and work with my foot. and say the
words and say the words, and so-the stone
comes up and the ends touch now So it is
with Baas Frank. One day the stone will
come up and the ends will touch. and he, too,
will die in blood. The devil in the English
woman said SO, and devils cannot lie or speak
half the truth only. And now, look, rub
my foot over the circles and they are gone,
and there is only the path again. That means
that when they have died in blood they will
be quite forgotten and stamped out. Even
their graves will be fat" and he wrinkled
up his yellow face into a smile, or rather
grin, and then added in a matter offact way:
"Does the baas wish the gray mare to have
one bundle of green forage or twoa'